When the Lights Went Out (2012) REVIEW

DAVID SAUNDERSON is the founder and managing editor of The Spooky Isles.

TITLE: When The Lights Went OutYEAR RELEASED: 2012DIRECTOR: Pat HoldenCAST: Kate Ashfield, Nicky Bell, Tasher Connor and Alan Brent
When the Lights Went Out is everything that The Spooky Isles is about – a creepy horror film about a real life haunting that makes no apologises for liking a good scare.
This 2012 film directed by Pat Holden is based on the infamous real life Yorkshire poltergeist haunting, known as The Black Monk of Pontefract from the 1970s.
The film starts with the The Maynard Family (changed from Pritchard from the original case), moving into their new house, only to discover that the house already inhabited by a malign presence. Initially, it is only the teenage daughter who notices the spirit. However, it doesn’t take long for the whole family to be terrorised.
What makes this film is so delicious is the openness of the terror. We aren’t talking little creaks here and there, with a “is it, or isn’t it?” ghostliness. When the poltergeist arrives, it smacks you round the head and throws you down the stairs!
There is an awesome exorcism scene, which pays homage to The Exorcist (1973) as the ghostbusters approach the house not unlike Max Von Sydow in the original film.
When the Lights Went Out is a little slow at the start but once it gets going, it’s a lot of fun. I really want to go to Pontefract Castle – the home of the Black Monk – now that I have seen it in the film.